Grey Daturas noodle with WolfEyes

Tue 20th Jun, 2006 in Features

Thick ropes of stringy noise leak out from under the door of the makeshift studio down the hall. A studio that is by all accounts a bedroom; yet with the masterful initiative of Dav (Pronounced like Dave) Byrne and Adam Tyndall a fully functioning music den has appeared and constructed itself from pieces over the past couple of weeks to turn a Melbourne terrace share house into something quite remarkable. No longer the coveted Big Room, it is now adorned with bright Orange amps, 10 mics, pearlescent drums, about 50 pedals and more leads than a dog show. And of course, the Grey Daturas are here to christen the joint.

Recording for a split with Wolf Eyes, the Daturas’ Bonnie Mercer, Rob Mayson and Rob MacManus start at about 11 with a cheery cuppa downstairs. Their mood belies the dark rumbling of their creative output, but right now its time for a joke and a laugh and to sweep me out of my belfry and start the day. By two, the tape is rolling and their improvised sessions are recorded for ever more. The spirits of Sun Ra and Jackie-O Motherfucker take hold, their hands reaching through the ether, guiding these noise artists’ untamed fury-bop. The sound from outside on the street is sufficiently blurred and smothered to satisfy Constable Kerntz and the noise police. From out here it sounds like a high-school-cheerleader-in-the-forest-movie soundtrack, the axe swinging wildly behind her, about to drop.

Rob, the bespectacled guitarist/drummer is currently working out some amp troubles, as these noisy groups from The Electric Wizard right through to Goatwitch usually have to overcome, which leaves a calm punctuated by zipping noises from the 8-track as it rewinds. During the lull, Macmanus has time to share something about their sound. “Orange amps have a much brighter sound, these Mesa Boogie and Marshall amps just don’t have it, the sound we’re after y’know? It’s so metal, so boring”. To say that the Daturas are throwing sound in its ear is probably one of those typical journalistic embellishments that sells papers. They are part of a select set of Australian bands that actually make this noise and are certainly underappreciated, but its all a matter of taste.

Austin, Texas’ South by Southwest festival was a high point, though. Mayson and Bonnie were able to play before idols and industry types alike who appreciated them immensely. Macmanus was left behind because of a belligerent American customs office, which he holds no grudge towards (“Gotta get it organised sooner next time” he says, making reference to the Christmas period being a bad time for customs’ bureaucracy). “Circle were fuckin’ awesome” relays Mayson who capitalised on the Austin gigs both through the experience and by networking with the likes of Thurston Moore, 2-piece ex-Sleep stoner doomers Om and Marissa Adler, who he accompanied on the keyboard for her Australian tour.

Mayson is the joker, Macmanus the organiser and Bonnie a sort of ephemeral lube, supporting her band mates when necessary and making sure there’s no friction, she says ”(there’s) no director, no conductor, no songsmith, no nothing” which must make it difficult to copyright, yet there is a sense of organisation in their tunes which comes from somewhere, something shared between them. Mayson elaborates for my benefit, looking to Bonnie for support: “Sometimes we try and play a particular type of song, like we say; ‘lets play a quiet one’” then almost without a pause his motor memory senses take hold and his hand moves across a phantom guitar and turns it way up, strumming away he gives the impression that they’re blasting a signature wall of sound through the PA.

The tour with Wolf Eyes is almost upon us, dates are the 22nd at the all new East Brunswick club and the 24th at the Spanish Bar and the split will be available at gigs and good Melbourne music emporiums, or at the usual places in your capital city.

Being the friendly and comfortable joint this is, we get a visit on the second day of recording from Matt Skitz and Fanza, ex-Damaged drummer and guitarist who have recently formed Terrorust and recorded a new album with Dav on bass. We sit and chat, make some jokes and listen to yesterday’s tapes on the 8-track. Dav is keen to show it to everyone, he is justifiably proud of the monster he and Tyndall have created and is excited to work with more Melbourne bands. And for the record, Dav Byrne is not in Talking Heads.